I Wrote a little Article
For the Erotic Romance blog, about a certain very graphic word that starts with c and ends with t. I use the word several times in the article (I lost count, but it's a lot) and hopefully managed to use it in a tongue-in-cheek kind of way (although I decided not to mention tongue-in-cheek in the article itself, all things considered.)
If you have any interest in reading it, I'd love it if you'd comment here or there or both and let me know what you think.
It's here.
I've been work, work, working and my fingers are sore. Not much happening in romance blog-land that I want to touch. We still have some whiny asses bitching about "unproductive" and "personal" bad reviews--apparently mentioning the name of the author in conjunction with the badly-reviewed work, as if-gasp-holding the author responsible for the work, makes it a personal attack now--and there's some rumblings about race and black romance writers that even I am not brave enough to go within several blogs' distance of. Or rather, I am that brave, I'm just not that stupid. (Okay, now I have to say something or you'll all think I'm hiding an evil, racist secret. But all I will say is that I don't care if you're black, blue, or green, if you write good books you deserve to have it acknowledged, and if you don't you deserve to be panned or ignored, but readers have a right to not read books with plots that don't interest them--I wouldn't read a "secret baby" book unless my life depended on it, personally. Pleasedon'tkillmeIhavetwochildren.)
Sorry this is so short, but I really have been playing in Blogland a little too much over the last hour or two-that c-word article took some time-so I should get some actual work done. It occured to me recently that if I want to be a writer I do need to actually do some of that pesky writing, so I shall go do that now.
9 comments:
Nice article, but I don't think I'll ever be okay with the "C" word. Mostly, because I've heard it used not as a descriptive term for genitalia, but as an insult aimed at women that's waaaaay worse than b*tch. Usually said by men. Like "you useless skanky bedhopping didn't shower between your daily 20 bangs whore" kind of insult. I don't know that I could make the jump from that to 'ooh, she's hot' no matter what Chaucer said. ;)
Excellent article, december. I have never had a problem with the word in the erotic context (but I am a man -if that matters).
However, robyn is right. When I here it or even read it most of the time it is in the context that robyn so eloquently described. In fact, I used in that context just yesterday when a cu, er, woman was so busy dialing her cell phone she ran a stop sign and almost killed me (an 800 lb bike is no match for an Escalade). So, I think that is why most women are offended by the word -they tie it to that unflattering word (bitch).
Having said that, I would say use the word any way you want, any time you want. If people don't like it, then they can read something else.
As for the topic you brought up in this blog, I agree also. Sometimes (way too often) people use their socioeconomic background as an excuse for failure and that really grinds my gears. -JTC
Yes, it's a nice article. Clever.
No, I don't agree about the word, for the same reasons mentioned by Robyn and JTC.
Whatever many-folder mystery (MANY folded? Are we getting into damascene rose territory here?)Chaucer may have implied, the present context as used by much of society is degrading and contemptuous; and, like the race-rumbles, I'm not going to touch this usage (and try to re-habilitate it) with a ten-foot pole either.
I agree with Robyn and JTC. The offensiveness of the word has been cultivated by men's usage of it to demean women.
An excellent article, December. You certainly have me now contemplating more positive applications of the word.
Very informative article! I've come to realize that I don't mind the c-bomb in written work at all. It's when it is spoken as an insult that gets me.
Calling me a cunt to my face equates to a desire to lose a few teeth. But write it all you want, and I'll happily read it! :-)
(I don't like the p-word at all, written or spoken. I prefer cunt. I'm going to make a bumper sticker that says "I prefer cunt" and park my ass out in front of the ultra-zealous Lighthouse church. :-)
I know, it's hard to get past the use of it as an insult. It's not easy to see it any way other than as a degrading word. I just think we should try, because it is a useful word. :-) But I do understand. And you know, it occured to me last night--when I use it in sex scenes, it's always SEX scenes. I don't use it in my more romantic love scenes, just in the down-and-dirty ones.
Unconscious prejudice, or another example of choosing words carefully?
I am really pleased it made you guys think, though-that's the best kind of flattery in the world! We'll start a crusade!
LOL, SW! You must post a picture of you do that!
No, Jenn, you're right. The c-word is historically accurate, the p-word is not. It was used to refer to a woman, but in a sweet, innocent way in the middle ages and for hundreds of years after.
"Twat" is old Norse, though. So it's accurate. Care to use "twat"? :-) Ugh! I really do dislike that one!
The P-word...
just thinking of seeing James Bond and Pussy Galore on t.v. and my mom trying to explain to me...
hee hee...
Lol, Robyn!
Pussy Galore is such a fantastic name, but I always thought Plenty O'Toole ran a close second.
Mike Meyers beat them both with Dixie Normous, though. :-)
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